


Transporter: Supercharged

by TheLordismyGod



Category: Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014), Transporter (Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-06
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2018-04-19 08:11:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4739102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLordismyGod/pseuds/TheLordismyGod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>MPaS AU crossover with Transporter. Frank Martin is a transporter assigned by Ms. Grunion to deliver a kidnapped Sherman to Washington D.C., but when he discovers the truth behind Grunions actions, he and Sherman set out for revenge. Collaboration with Shinigamilover2 from Fanfiction.net, he provided the plot points, I wrote and added the details.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meet Frank and an Assignment

Frank Martin sat in the empty parking lot of the Whiskey Park bar on his cellphone in New York City.

“Yes, I’ve completed the job, I’m free for now, unless I get another job.” he said.

Frank is a transporter, someone who transports people or items to certain destinations with no questions asked, no changing the deal, and no opening the package. Frank had just completed one of these missions and had no others on his plate. It was a Sunday, and there was nobody else around. But he had decided to go to the bar anyways to take a break.

“Yes, thank you.” He ended the call and was about to get out when he noticed three shady looking teens exit the bar and started eying him suspiciously. His car was an Audi A8 L W12, being a transporter allowed one such luxuries. He did not have a good feeling about this.

“ _Seriously? They have to carjack me now? Well you don’t mess with Frank Martin on his off days…._ ” He slowly got out and approached them.

“Hey, wassup?” he said as he passed them to enter the bar. As he did one swung around and wrapped his arm around Frank’s neck in a chokehold. The other two flanked each side. “Hand the wallet over, nice and slow.” he whispered in his ear. In those few seconds Frank thought “ _Yeah, I’d better take care of these guys._ ”

He jabbed his elbow into the teen’s stomach, he let go of Frank’s neck and so Frank spun around and dealt him a left hook. As the teen staggered to the right, Frank turned to the left and threw another right hook at the second teen while simultaneously lifting his right leg and sending a kick behind him. It connected and he heard an oomph from the third teen.

“Let’s beat it!” the first one said, “We can’t take this guy!” They started running down the street.

“Yeah! You don’t want to mess with me!” he yelled after them.

His cellphone started ringing. He took it out of his pocket and looked at the number. He didn’t recognize it. He warily answered it and said “Hello?”

A women’s voice answered “Hello, is this Frank Martin?”

“Yes it is, who is this?”

“My name is Ms. Grunion, and I’m looking for a transporter. I learned through some reliable sources that you are one?”

“ _Oh, great, just as I thought I was going to get a break._ ” he thought “ _But, I’ve never turned down a job yet._ ”

 “Yes, I am. What do you need?” he said out loud.

“I need you to transport something for me to Washington D.C. Can you meet me near the south entrance of Central Park? Now? I need it done as soon as possible.”

Frank thought about it. “Sure I’m right near there anyways.”

“Excellent, I will see you there.” She ended the call and Frank put his cellphone back in his pocket.

He turned and started walking back toward the parking lot toward his car. As he got in and started it he began wondering why the package was so important that it must go to Washington D.C. These kinds of questions and more were on his mind as he drove. As he neared the entrance he noticed a black-haired woman leaning against a van.

“ _That must be her._ ” he thought.

He pulled up behind the van and got out. She smiled as she noticed him and said, “Frank Martin?”

“That’s me.” he said. As he got closer he noticed she was a little overweight and that most of her clothes were some shade of pink or another. She was wearing a pink shirt with a light purple striped blazer over it and a pink skirt, with white tights.

“As I said on the phone, I need something transported to Washington D.C., and I will be willing to pay you $10,000 to get it there as soon as possible.” she said

“Alright but what is it?” he asked.

“I’ll show you.”

She moved to the back of the van and opened it to reveal a very large duffel bag. “I can’t tell you what’s inside it, and DON’T open it.” she said “That is all. Do you accept the offer or not?”

Frank thought about it. Washington D.C. was only a few hours’ drive away, it was 5 PM now; he could make it there and back and still have enough time to get a few drinks.

“I’ll do it. I can leave now.” he said.

“Excellent,” she said with a smirk. “Take it to the Washington D.C. Supreme Court. After you complete the job call me and I’ll arrange the payment.”

“Sounds good.” Frank said.

He nodded and picked up the duffel bag by the handles. The first thing he noted was it was very heavy, but he didn’t say anything, as one of the rules of the transporters was no questioning the package contents. He opened his car door and threw it in the backseat.

Grunion got into the van and drove off as Frank got into his car and started it. As he did the duffel bag fell off the seat and onto the floor.

“ _That was weird, I didn’t place it near the edge. Hopefully there isn’t anything breakable inside._ ” he thought.

He pulled away and started toward the freeway that would take him toward Washington D.C. As he drove he heard movement behind him. He quickly glanced behind him and noticed the duffel bag was now moving around and he could hear what sounded like muffled grunts.

“ _What in the world?….There must be an animal in there or something. I can’t keep it like that for 3 hours…_ ”

Deciding to break the rules this once he pulled over onto the curb again and got out and opened the side door. He lifted the bag onto the seat again. He unzipped it and came face to face with a little boy with red hair who was hogtied and gagged with a dishcloth.

 


	2. Meet Sherman and a Kidnapping

It took Frank a moment to register that there was a human being in the duffel bag. He quickly ungagged and untied him and he cried out.

“Calm down kid! I’m not going to hurt you.”

He helped him get out of the duffel bag and sat him down on the seat. He got in and sat next to him. 

“What’s happening?! Who are you!?” the child yelled.

“My name’s Frank, what’s yours?”

“Sherman.” he said, “Sherman Peabody.”

“Well Sherman, I was supposed to take you to Washington D.C. but it looks like you were kidnapped. Do you know what happened to y- hang on, you wouldn’t happen to be THE Sherman Peabody would you?”

“What do you mean?” Sherman asked.

“There’s only one being I know with the last name of Peabody and it’s that famous dog that talks. I heard he adopted some kid or something 7 years ago, but the kid’s face was never shown on TV.”

“Yep, that’s me, Mr. Peabody is my dad.” Sherman said with a smile. It immediately fell as he said “Mr. Peabody! He is in Washington D.C.! We have to save him!”

“Calm down, first things first, did Ms. Grunion kidnap you?”

“Yes.” Sherman said, “She took me away from him and then she gave me a shot and I fell asleep and then I was here.”

“Well what I do, my job I guess you could call it, has some gray areas, but if there’s one thing I won’t stand for, it’s the kidnapping of children or child trafficking. Tell me all about what happened to you, and I will help you make this right.” Frank said with determination.

“Uh, well, it started a couple days ago when I bit a girl-”

“You bit a girl?” Frank asked incredulously “Why?”

Sherman quickly added, “Because she was being mean to me about my dad being a dog, she threw my sandwich and wanted me to fetch it like a dog. Mr. Peabody always says that we should try to calmly talk with our enemies. I didn’t see any other way but to do what she wanted. I walked over to get it but then she took something out of my pocket. I tried to get it back but she put me in a chokehold. I couldn’t think of any other way but to bite her to make her let me go. So I did.”

“Oh, well it was justified then.” Frank said with a smile “But that still doesn’t explain why Ms. Grunion kidnapped you.”

“Uh, well….it’s kind of a long story I guess.”

Frank laughed. “I think we’ve got time.”

“After I bit the girl Mr. Peabody got called to the principal’s office and Ms. Grunion said if he couldn’t prove he’s a suitable parent she would take me away from him…. and she did.” Sherman started crying.

It took Frank a moment to calm Sherman down again.

“What happened next?” he asked him.

Sherman wiped some of his tears away and continued, “She said she would be coming to our house to conduct an investigation, but Mr. Peabody also invited Penny, that’s the girl’s name, and her family over. I guess he thought that would fix it somehow. It didn’t. Ms. Grunion came over too and well, uh, some “things” happened and she decided Mr. Peabody wasn’t a good parent. She tried to drag me away but Mr. Peabody bit her trying to stop her so she called the police. They came and took Mr. Peabody away. I asked her where they were taking him and she said a federal prison in Washington D.C. until she can get them to take my custody from him. He said nothing would ever take me away from him but he was wrong!” Sherman started crying again.

Frank didn’t consider himself a touchy-feely sort of person but he couldn’t help but feel his heart melt at the little boy sitting next to him crying his eyes out.

He put an arm around Sherman and said in the most paternal voice he could muster: “Sherman, I promise I will help you get your dad back. Don’t worry, everything that Ms. Grunion has done was illegal, like taking you from your home, do you know if she had any kind of legal document stating she could do that?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Sherman smiled at him. “Thank you.”

Suddenly Frank noticed something on Sherman’s ankle. “What is that?”

Sherman gasped, “I don’t know, it wasn’t there before.”

There was a round silver device with two vials of purple fluid attached to Sherman’s ankle and a little screen showing the number 75. It was wrapped around Sherman’s sock, which is why he hadn’t noticed it before.

Frank leaned in closer. He gasped as he recognized it.

“Sherman whatever you do don’t leave this car. I need to get something real quick.”

He got out of the car, ran around to the passenger’s side, and opened the door and the glove compartment. He returned carrying a flat bag, which he placed on the seat and opened. Inside were many screwdrivers of various sizes and other straight objects that looked like they were for lock picking.

“Put your leg up here.” he instructed Sherman. Sherman complied and placed his leg on the seat and Frank removed his shoe.

“Apparently….Grunion doesn’t want you away from me…” He said as he picked at the device with the various tools. “This is a device that is set to kill you if you get to far away from here- But don’t worry, it will only happen if you take too many steps, and you haven’t even moved.” He quickly added after looking up and seeing a look of horror on Sherman’s face. He looked back down and continued, “I will get it off, don’t worry.”

After a few more minutes of messing with the device he said “Ok, I’ve got it, but I don’t know if it will hurt to be removed, I’ve never had one on me. Ready?”

Sherman nodded and braced himself.

Frank slowly began removing the device, the needles started coming out of Sherman’s skin and sock. A small trickle of blood started running down his sock and Frank quickly took it off, grabbed a bandage from the bag, wrapped it around his ankle, and replaced his sock and shoe. 

“There, how does it feel?” he asked.

“Ok, it didn’t hurt too much.” Sherman said.

“Well, looks like we’ll have to travel to Washington D.C. And… Sherman you do realize that apparently Ms. Grunion wants to frame me for kidnapping you, right?”

“What do you mean?” Sherman asked.

And so Frank explained the legal ramifications of what Sherman being with him meant.

* * *

 

Grunion looked at the tablet screen in her hand. The icon that had her attention had stopped moving quite a few minutes ago. She was sitting in her car in an empty alley. There were two police cars parked in front of hers.

“Ha! Perfect, Sherman’s most likely woken up now, and Frank’s most likely discovered him.” She got out of her car and walked over to the police cars.

“McHale, Farris.” She said, “I need you to arrest Frank Martin for kidnapping.”

“AND we can add neglect to the list of reasons Mr. Peabody isn’t a good father.” she said to herself with a smirk.

“Come on Grunion, we’ve already done everything you wanted.” McHale said.

She gave them a death glare “Remember that large sum of money I promised you?, it CAN get smaller. I said after everything I need done is done, and it’s not done yet.”

“Fine, fine, where is he?”

Grunion checked her tablet again. “Right near Central Park’s south entrance, in an Audi A8 L W12.”

“Ok, we’re going.” McHale said as he started his car, Farris did the same and they both drove out of the alley.

* * *

 

“Sherman, you said Grunion said they took Mr. Peabody to D.C. right?” Frank asked him

“Yes.” Sherman replied, “The D.C. federal court granted Mr. Peabody custody of me, so I guess maybe they are the only ones who can remove it.”

“But then you suddenly end up here, in a duffel bag, why?” Frank said more to himself than Sherman. “Why didn’t Grunion just take Sherman to D.C. herself?” He was talking to himself now. “Why frame me, a random transporter, for kidnapping? It doesn’t make sense…”

At that moment, they heard police sirens and two police cars came racing around the corner.

“Shoot!, Sherman, buckle yourself in, it’s going to get bumpy!”  Frank yelled as he jumped into the car and started the engine. He pulled away and floored the accelerator.

“Why are you running from the police?!” Sherman yelled.

“Because I have a feeling that those aren’t real police, they were probably hired or paid by Grunion to arrest me for kidnapping you.”

“But you didn’t kidnap me!” Sherman said.

“Exactly. I think Grunion probably wants you kidnapped just to add another reason to her list of why your dad isn’t a good father, which, if you turned out like this after 7 years, I’m pretty sure he’s a really good one” Frank looked back at him with a smile. He quickly turned back to the road and frowned “But dragging me into it? Well now you’re just asking for trouble.”

He floored the accelerator, but the police were gaining on him “ _We can’t have that._ ” he thought

He eyed his gas gauge. “I’ll need to fill up my car soon,” he said as he dodged cars and pedestrians “otherwise we’ll run out of gas.”

“But what are we going to do?” Sherman asked him “How are we going to lose them?”

“Oh, I know just where, Battery Park, we should be able to lose them there.” he said with a smirk.

They were quickly coming up on a bridge, Frank shot over it and the police followed suit.

“But what are you going to do?” Sherman asked him again.

“Oh, I’ll just give them a little something else to worry about, something wet.” he said.

He continued down FDR Drive, dodging cars and pedestrians all the way. The police right on his tail. As he approached Battery Park, he sped up to 100 mph and pulled away from the police. As he got closer, he slowed down, skidded onto the pavement, and entered the park. He slowed down to allow the police to catch up.

“Brace yourself Sherman.” he said. Sherman gripped the seat and the door handle.

Frank floored the accelerator one last time and began counting down, “3.” he looked into his rearview mirror “…2……..   1.” He pulled a hard right and the car spun around and did a complete 180. The police flew right past him. One flew right through the fence and into the ocean. The other wasn’t so lucky. It had tried to turn too but had smashed sideways into a tree. Frank thought he saw the airbag go off as he pulled away.

“THAT will keep them occupied for a while.” he said, “Either those police were: A: really stupid, B: couldn’t see where they were going, or C: not real police at all, in which case they’re still really stupid.”

“Wow, that was amazing.” Sherman said

“Yes, being a transporter you kinda have to learn moves to get away from the police.”

“What are we going to do now?” Sherman asked him.

“Well we can’t go to your house, that’s the first place they might look. I’ll take you to my house and then we can get some sleep.”

“And then what?”

“Well, I have a feeling we will have to get some proof of some kind before we can make a case against Ms. Grunion….”


	3. Breaking into the School

“What school do you go to?” Frank asked Sherman as they drove to Frank’s penthouse in the Upper West Side.

“The Susan B. Anthony private school.” Sherman answered, “Why did you want to know that?”

“Because that’s the only place where the real proof is.” Frank answered, “The school has cameras, right?”

“Yes.” Sherman’s eyes widened as he realized what Frank was suggesting.  “You think we can show Ms. Grunion the video of me biting Penny and she will see why I did?”

“Yes, but not her so much as the judge, jury and everyone else that what you did was justified and shows your father didn’t raise you as a dog.” Frank answered.

They arrived at Frank’s house, which was a penthouse just like Sherman’s only the design was older.

“You live here?” Sherman asked as they took the elevator to Frank’s floor.

“Yes.” Frank answered simply. They exited the elevator and walked over to the door. He took out a set of keys and unlocked it. “You hungry?”

“Yes, starving, I haven’t eaten since lunch.”

They entered and Sherman looked around. The ceiling stretched high into the air and the whole space was clean and immaculate. There was no carpet, just a clean wooden floor. Sherman noticed a cabinet on one side of the room and a couch on the other with a door right next to it.

They walked through the living room to the kitchen. Frank gave a laugh as he rummaged around in the freezer. “Sorry, but I’m single and don’t cook so all I’ve really got is TV dinners.”

“I don’t mind, I can eat anything.” Sherman said.

Frank took two out and prepared them, they ate and then Frank brought Sherman into the living room again and gestured to the couch.

“Sorry I don’t have anything better, I don’t get many guests.”

“It’s fine.” Sherman said as he sat down on it. “Wow, it’s nice and soft.” he said as patted it.

Frank grabbed a blanket from a cabinet. “Here’s a blanket.” He handed it to Sherman who spread it out on the couch.

“So, here’s the plan: we’ll have to wait until nighttime tomorrow to break into the school and grab a copy of the security camera footage.”

Sherman looked at him apprehensively. “Isn’t that illegal?”

“Well yeah, but what else are we going to do? They aren’t just going to let us walk in and grab a copy of it. This that ‘gray area’ I was talking about. Anyways it’s late, so get some sleep. When you wake up, help yourself to anything for breakfast. And I’ve got a Wii U you can play too.” He pointed to the cabinet he had grabbed the blanket from. “And I’ll be in my room in there if you need anything.” He pointed to the door right next to the couch. “Goodnight.” he entered it and Sherman was left alone.

When Sherman woke up he rummaged around in the pantry in the kitchen and found some pop tarts, he ate those and then entertained himself playing Mario Kart 8. Frank came out a little later and joined him.

Sherman passed most of the day playing Wii U while Frank occasionally would come and go, sometimes playing with him, sometimes just passing through grabbing something to drink from the kitchen or to have lunch and then entering his room again.

The clock struck 9 PM. Sherman was in the middle of beating up Zelda on Super Smash Bros. after having eaten dinner when Frank poked his head out his door.

“Ok, it’s time to go. The school will definitely be closed and empty by now.” he said

They both left the penthouse and shivered as the night air met them. They both got into the car. “What are you going to do?” Sherman asked him as he buckled himself in.

“I don’t exactly know. I’ve managed to get my hands on the layout of the school, so I know exactly where the security office is, but I don’t know if they have any kind of guards, which will pose a bit of a problem if we run into one.”

“Why?”

“Well, we’ll have living proof that we were in the school tonight…and we can’t have that.”

“But what about the cameras?”

Frank scoffed “Oh, I can take care of those.”

They were silent the rest of the way.

Frank pulled into the rear parking lot. He took a little device from his pocket and pointed it at the camera above the back door.

“What is that?” Sherman asked him.

“Focused EMP. It disrupts any electronic devices only within range of where I’m pointing it. That camera will see only static.”

He got out and Sherman followed suit.  They sneaked over to the door and Frank crouched down and took another device from his jacket. He poked it into the door and soon Sherman heard the lock click.

Frank slowly opened the door and shined a flashlight inside. He grabbed the EMP again and pointed it at the camera just above the door inside.

“Come on.” he said.

Sherman followed him inside and Frank slowly shut the door. He shined the flashlight toward the end of the hallway and started forward. Sherman tailed right behind him.

They reached the end of the hallway and Frank looked around the corner. He quickly pointed the EMP at the next camera and continued down the next hall. They passed the lunchroom where Sherman had bitten Penny.

“That’s where it happened.” Sherman whispered and pointed.

“Where what happened?” Frank whispered back “…Oh.” he said as he followed Sherman’s finger. “Where she bullied you?”

Sherman nodded. They continued down the next hallway with Frank pointing the EMP at any cameras along the way. Frank finally stopped and crouched down and motioned for Sherman to do the same. He pointed to the door they were right next to. “This is it. You stay here, I’ll take care of this.” he whispered to him.

Sherman watched as Frank slowly stepped in front of the door. He put his ear to it and listened. Then he slowly opened it, as he did, light started streaming out. He entered and slowly closed it again. A few moments later Sherman heard a grunt and a thump and Frank opened the door again.

“All clear, come on.” He motioned for Sherman to join him. Sherman entered and gasped as he noticed a man slumped in a chair.

“What happened?!” he said.

“I knocked him out.” Frank said as he held up a wrench “Alright, now…” He pushed the chair with the guard in it out of the way “…I just need to access the computer.” He removed a small USB drive from his jacket and inserted it into one of the USB ports on the front of the computer sitting on the desk the guard had been sitting in front of. He then switched his attention to the screen and began typing on the keyboard.

“What day did she bully you?” Frank asked Sherman.

“Just this last Tuesday, the first day of school.” he said.

“I’m assuming lunchtime?” Frank looked at him. He nodded.

Frank brought up the video file of the camera in the lunchroom on that day and scrubbed to just before 12pm. Sherman showed him where he sat with Mason and Carl and Frank scrubbed right to where they sat down.

He started slowly scrubbing forward until Sherman said, “There she is.” and pointed to Penny.

Frank played it.

They watched as Penny walked up to Sherman, they talked, and then Penny threw the tuna sandwich. They continued watching as Sherman went to go get it and then Penny stole his dog whistle. Penny then put him in a headlock, Sherman tried reaching for the whistle but couldn’t due to Penny’s headlock. He finally put his head down and Frank saw Penny’s face change instantly from a smirk to one in pain as Sherman bit her. She let him go and he lunged for the whistle and stuck it in his pocket.

“OK, I think that’s enough.” Frank said. He clicked a couple buttons on the screen and copied that portion of the file to the flash drive.

“Hold on, I want to see one more thing.” he said, “When did your father go see the principle?”

“Right after.” Sherman said, “The lunchroom monitor went and told the principle and he called Mr. Peabody.”

Frank switched to the principal’s camera feed for the same day and set it to right after Sherman bit Penny. He slowly scrubbed through it and watched carefully until he noticed a white beagle stride in. He stopped and played it. He reached over and turned the volume on the speakers up.

Frank and Sherman could now hear what was being said:

“ _Mr. Peabody, thank you for coming in on such short notice to discuss the problem with Sherman._ ”

“ _Oh, it’s not a problem at all, Principal Purdy, I fully expected this._ ”

“ _You did?_ ”

“ _Yes, and with all things Sherman related I prepared for it.”_ He pulled a briefcase up onto the desk and opened it. _“Here’s a curriculum that takes Sherman’s advanced preparation into account but won’t require you to have him to skip one or more grades._ ” he said as he pulled various pieces of paper out.

“ _Mr. Peabody-_ ” Purdy started, but Peabody cut him off.

“ _Here are some Pre-algebra worksheets, an advanced reading list and a link to a website I created so he can start studying Mandarin Chinese. It is, after all, the language of the future._ ”

“ _Mr. Peabody-_ ” Purdy tried again and Peabody cut him off again.

“ _I’m not saying he shouldn’t study French too Principal Purdy I’m saying have him do both._ ”

“ _Mr. Peabody!_ ” Purdy said more forcefully this time.

“ _What? Not enough? Swahili? lugha moja haitoshi._ ”  Peabody said.

“What does that mean?” Frank asked.

“It means ‘One language is not enough.’” Sherman said.

“ _Sherman got into a fight today._ ” Purdy said.

“ _Oh dear._ ” The proud smile disappeared from Peabody’s muzzle as he closed the briefcase.

Purdy reached into his desk and pulled out a red folder. “ _Pictures were taken for insurance purposes._ ” he said as he passed it to Peabody. 

Peabody took it and opened it. Frank paused the video and zoomed in on the folder. Inside was a picture of Penny another of her arm with teeth marks on it. There was a small picture of Sherman attached to the corner. He un-zoomed and resumed playback.

They all heard the door open and a new voice speak. “ _He BIT her._ ”

Frank looked at the door and saw Ms. Grunion enter.

“ _I must say it doesn’t look good for you Mr. Peabody. After all… you are a dog._ ” she said as she walked up to Purdy’s desk.

“ _Who, may I ask are you?_ ” Peabody asked, turning to her.

“ _I am Ms. Grunion, from the Bureau of Child Safety and Protection._ ”

“ _We’re required by law to contact them whenever there’s an….incident._ ” Purdy said.

“ _Sherman’s never done anything like this before…I’m sure he must have had a reason._ ” said Peabody.

“He certainly did.” Frank said under his breath.

“ _Well, the girl was being a bit of a bully-_ ” Purdy tried saying but was cut off by Ms. Grunion.

“ _Quiet Purdy!_ ” she yelled at him. “ _It’s normal for children to tease, it’s NOT normal for them to bite. Clearly it’s because of how he’s being raised. In my opinion, a dog can never be a suitable parent to a little boy._ ”

Frank was already seething. “In YOUR opinion?! You didn’t even let the principal finish! From the way you interrupted him you knew what he was going to say! You are completely and utterly biased! It’s not because of how he was being raised, it’s because he was in a headlock!”

“ _I must point out Ms. Grunion that I won the right to adopt Sherman in a court of law._ ” Peabody said.

“ _And the court can take it away from you.”_

Grunion paused for effect and Frank could see Peabody just slightly weaken under her gaze as he realized that was very possible.

_“I’ll be coming to your home tomorrow evening to conduct an investigation. If I discover that you are in any way an unfit parent, I will see to it Sherman is removed from your custody.”_ She grabbed the folder, stuck her pencil into the sharpener, removed it, and blew on it. “ _Permanently. I hope I’ve made myself clear?_ ”

“ _Crystal._ ” Peabody said.

They watched as Ms. Grunion left the room, followed soon after by Mr. Peabody.

“We’ll need this too.” Frank said as he copied the file to flash drive. He removed it and stuck it in his jacket pocket. “Showing the lunchroom video to Ms. Grunion won’t help anything. She’s already biased toward your dad. We need to get this to a courtroom. Now we need to go to the principal’s office.”

“Why?” Sherman asked him.

“I just need to get something.” he said.

They exited the security office and Frank closed the door. They continued down the hallway, Frank checking for cameras the whole way. They approached the corner and Frank peeked around it. He spotted a camera just above the Principal’s door. He pointed the EMP at it and motioned for Sherman to follow. They quietly made their way down the hall. They got to the door and Frank tried it. “Locked, of course.” he said. He quickly pulled his lock pick out of his jacket and inserted it into the lock. It clicked and he and Sherman entered the office.

Frank quickly ran around the desk and sat down in the chair. He turned on Purdy’s computer but was soon met with a login screen requiring a password.

“How are you going to get in?” Sherman asked him as he joined Frank behind the desk.

“I’m not. This will.” Frank said as he held up the flash drive.

He inserted it into the computer and shortly the computer was logging in.

“Wow, how did it do that?” Sherman asked in awe.

“I have the best password cracker on this baby.” he said as he removed it. “It will crack the password and log me in to anything.”

“Now….where do they keep the student’s addresses?” he said more to himself as he typed on the keyboard.

“Student’s addresses?! What do you need those for?”

“Shhh! Keep your voice down.” Frank said, “I need Penny’s address so we can go there and turn their lawyer against them.”

“What!? You mean break into their house?!”

“Be quiet! Most likely they will try and sue you and your father because you bit her. Jeremiah 17:9.”

“Huh?” Sherman said, confusion on his face.

“Just something I read in Sunday school when I was little. It’s a bible verse that goes ‘The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?’ and I believe that’s true. The Petersons will most likely try to sue you guys instead of just letting it go. I can tell just from the way their daughter is.” he said as he continued typing.

“Ah, here it is.” he said. He pulled a notebook out of his jacket and wrote the address down. He shut the computer down and got up from the desk. They both left the office and Frank closed the door.

“Well well, what do we have here?”

Frank and Sherman spun around. What looked like the night-time janitor was standing in front of them. He had his cart full of cleaning supplies and was holding a mop. He was an average weight man with a clean-shaven face, sharp cheekbones, and a clean-shaven head of black hair

He smirked “Grunion sent me. I can’t let you leave with that evidence. Also, I am a black belt, so may want to just hand it over.”

Frank looked around. He spotted a broom a few feet away from the principal’s door leaning against the wall. He grabbed it and said with a snarl: “I’m not afraid of no black belt and I’m not leaving without it.”

“Alright then.” the janitor pulled the mop head off the mop and held it like a staff.

They began to circle each other. “How did you know we were here?” Frank asked him.

“There is a tracking device in the zipper of that duffel bag. She was able to track you to your house. And all the way here, since you left it in your car the whole time.” the janitor said.

Frank mentally face palmed.

“She figured you’d be on the boy’s side so she had me get this job a few days in advance just in case, and she was right. Now, I give you one last chance: Hand it over or I’ll have to take it forcefully.”

“Not happening.” Frank said.

“Alright then.”

The janitor lunged at Frank ninja style but Frank managed to side step him. He spun around and aimed a whack at the janitors face with his broom but he was too quick and flipped backwards. Frank just wanted this over with, he continued blocking and exchanging strokes with the janitor as he roved the hallway out the corner of his eye. He noticed an elevator at the end of the next hallway. A plan began to form in his mind. He quickly blocked another swipe from the janitor’s mop stick, causing it to smack against the wall, the loud crack from the broom and mop colliding echoing down the hall. He jumped over to the left so that the janitor was now in between Frank and the elevator. He quickly went on the offensive, violently swinging his broom stick, pushing the janitor backwards towards the elevator. He took one hand off the broom and continued blocking with one hand. He put it into his pocket where the EMP was and pointed it at the elevator through his pocket and activated it. The elevator of course went haywire, doors opening and closing rapidly. Frank noticed the elevator car was not at this floor and saw just the elevator shaft. “ _Perfect._ ” he thought. He continued blocking the janitor’s swipes at him and, after one last swipe he noticed an opening. He swung upwards with his broom, knocking the janitor upside the chin. He staggered backwards, and Frank wasted no time in sending a kick to his chest at just the right moment. The janitor went flying backwards and Frank had timed it perfectly. He went sailing through the doors just as they opened again and fell down the shaft.

Frank turned around and noticed Sherman watching him with an open mouth from the end of the hallway at the principal’s door.

“That was …. amazing.” he said as Frank made his way back to him, breathing heavily.

“Heh, it’s nothing.” he said.

“Mr. Peabody doesn’t let me watch any violent shows on TV…now I see why…but that was still amazing.”

Frank laughed. “Come on, let’s get out of here….”


	4. Breaking into the Petersons House

Frank checked his watch. “10:30, we’re making good time. Come on.” He led the way back down the halls to the back door. They departed and Sherman got into the car.

“Hang on, I just gotta do one thing.” Frank said as he opened the back door and pulled the duffel bag out. “We definitely don’t want to keep THIS anymore.” He threw it into the dumpster that was sitting against the back of the school “Now they can’t track us.” 

“What are we going to do now?” Sherman asked as he buckled himself in.

“Well, the nights still young, we’re going to Penny’s house now.” Frank said as he got into the driver’s seat.

“Are you sure about that? What if they see us?” Sherman asked anxiously.

“Yes, I have an idea, but we need to go to their house to do it. This little guy…” Frank said as he held up the USB drive “…is going to hack me into their computer and I’m going to send an email to their lawyer with the evidence on it, the camera footage, and they will then have no choice but to drop any lawsuits against you or your father.”

He pulled out his phone and proceeded to enter Penny’s address into it. He set it on the dash and activated the GPS. They followed it to a mansion in the Upper East Side. Frank slowly drove around it, taking in every detail. The brick fence around the place, the skylight on the large garage, and, after scanning the area with yet another device he pulled from somewhere in his car, he knew exactly where all the security beams and triggers were.

He parked right next to the entrance. They got out and quietly walked over to the gate. Frank looked it over and then carefully inserted his lock pick into the lock of the gate.

“Is there anything that CAN’T unlock?” Sherman whispered.

“Yeah, electronic locks.” Frank whispered back. “The first hurdle is getting in, but they have security beams along the top of the fence, if anyone were to scale it and crawl over an alarm would go off. Luckily for us they used a regular lock to lock their gate.” he said as he finally unlocked it. He slowly opened it just enough so he and Sherman could slip through. They were standing on the asphalt driveway that led up to the garage. The garage and the mansion to its left was situated in a grassy hill, and part of the hill extended down toward them on the other side of the garage.

“Perfect.” Frank whispered, “We can get in through that skylight.” he said as he pointed at it “And that hill should help us get onto the roof.”

They slowly made their way up the hill and looked at the back of the garage. The front was of course too high to scale, but here the lip of the roof was just at Sherman’s height to be able to reach it. Frank helped Sherman up and then got on as quietly as he could himself. 

They slowly crawled over to the skylight and Frank opened it carefully. There was a 6 foot drop to the catwalk that ran along the inside of the garage. Frank lowered himself into it and then helped Sherman down. He looked over the catwalk to the car below, a 2015 Cherry Red Lykan Hypersport.

He frowned.

“What is it?” Sherman whispered as he followed Franks gaze and gasped. “Wow, that’s a nice car.”

Frank scoffed.

“What?”

“Look, there’s a boot on the tire. He doesn’t even drive it, it’s for show, a collector’s item.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Sherman asked him.

“People like him who aid criminals don't deserve nice things.” Frank said simply.

“How do you know Mr. Peterson is helping Ms. Grunion?”

“Because she’s just using him and the situation with Penny to get what she wants: you away from your father, because she apparently hates dogs for some reason, maybe she likes cats. I did my research, I have connections.”

Frank studied the garage carefully. The catwalk was against the backside of the garage and extended in both directions to both ends of the garage. He looked toward where the house was and noticed a large open window that had a view of the garage.

“Perfect. Look, there’s their office.” He said as pointed to it. They could see filing cabinets and bookshelves and a large screen with an Apple logo on it sitting on a desk inside. There was a door right next to the window. They quietly walked over to it and Frank reached into his pocket and took out his lock pick once again and inserted it into the lock. Shortly the door clicked and Frank opened it slowly. It creaked a little as he opened it. They walked in and Frank turned to Sherman and pulled a gun like device out of his jacket. Sherman looked at him, completely unfazed and said: “What is THAT for?”

“It’s a stun gun. I need you to watch for them.” He said as he handed it to Sherman and gestured to the door on the opposite side of the room that led to the rest of the house. “And stun them if they come in.”

“What?!” Sherman whisper-yelled “I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“Pfft, what can they do? You’re a minor.”

Frank quickly sat down at the iMac and powered it on. Once he was greeted with the login screen he inserted the USB drive into it and it was soon logging on. Frank quickly opened the email client and loaded the camera footage as attachments into the email. He quickly composed the email and searched the contact list until he found the Petersons lawyer and selected it.

He had just hit send when they both heard the door slam open. They both whirled around.

In the doorway stood Paul in his pajamas. They could see Patty and Penny standing behind him, also in their nightgowns.

“What the- Who are you and what are you doing in my house?!” Paul yelled.

“Sherman?” Penny looked at him curiously. “What are you doing in our house? And who is that man?”

“Uuhh…” Sherman couldn’t think of what to say but Frank saved him the trouble.

“Oh, hehe, Sorry about that.” He said with a smile as he rose from the chair. “I’m just helping Sherman out here.” He gestured to Sherman. “It appears that Penny has caused a very bad thing to happen to his family and I needed your computer for something.”

“I’m calling the police!” Paul yelled.

“Oh I wouldn’t do that,” Frank said, the smile now disappearing from his face “You see, that would look very bad for you, considering what I just sent from your computer, from ‘you’”

“What’s that?” Paul asked.

“The footage of the incident, Sherman bit Penny because she was bullying him, NOT because his dad is a dog. And being raised by a dog certainly hasn’t caused him any mental problems, I’ve been with him long enough. I sent it to your lawyer, telling him everything. He will have no choice but to drop any lawsuits, that camera footage is evidence enough, only no one bothered to look at it. I did and took matters into my own hands.” He finished with a smirk.

“We weren’t going to sue anyways.” Paul stated flatly.

“What?” Frank asked. He couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yeah, Peabuddy is a friend now, and Penny and Sherman are on good terms, they made up, I don’t even know why we’re involved in this, we had nothing to do with-”

“Yes you did, whether you made up or are friends now doesn’t matter.” Frank interrupted him. “It’s simple cause and effect. Penny bullying Sherman caused his home to come under the eye of Ms. Grunion from the Bureau of Child Safety and Protection, who then decided Peabody wasn’t a good father, and had him arrested.”

Paul sighed. “Well of course we will support Sherman in getting Peabody back. We’re actually required to be at a hearing about it in Washington D.C. in a couple weeks.”

“Well then, we’ll get out of your hair.” Frank said.

“And I won’t call the police.” Paul said.

“Good.” Frank said.

And with that, he and Sherman both quickly walked out the side door of the garage and down the driveway, away from the situation before it could get any more awkward.


	5. Gloating and Training

BANG!

Mr. Peabody was jolted awake from his sleep. He groggily sat up and put his glasses on as he looked through the cell bars toward the entrance of the cell.

Ms. Grunion came striding in with a confident smirk on her face.

“Well Mr. Peabody, it looks like you’ll never be a father of any kind. Especially since what has happened. Sherman was kidnapped. And you didn’t save him. They probably know how rich you are and want money. How neglectful of you.” She said with a leer as she strode toward him and stopped at the bars of the cell.

Peabody frowned. “How could I? You put me in here.” 

“Well if you wouldn’t have bitten me this wouldn’t have happened!” She yelled at him, holding up her arm.

“That’s what I was doing, protecting him from you! You were hurting him!” He yelled back, temporarily allowing his temper to get the best of him. He breathed deeply, calming himself. “Well isn’t anyone looking for him?”

“We did have a lead on where he was, and I did have some police try and arrest the kidnapper but after a car chase he evaded them. And so I had to…relieve them of their services.” She said with a scorn on her face, but then she brightened. “No matter, we are still looking for him. We will find him.”

“And then what?” He asked.

“Well, there’ll be a hearing, and then Sherman will be removed from your custody and returned to the Hard Rock orphanage of course.” She said with a sneer. “You won’t be allowed to see Sherman ever again and I’ll see to it you won’t be able to adopt any more children.”

Peabody’s heart fell. “What do you have against me and my family?”

“Sherman is not your family!” She yelled as she gripped the bars of the cell in anger. “You’re a dog, he’s a boy, and it’s the wrong way around!”

“So just because we’re not related by blood or species means we aren’t a family?” Peabody asked. “Isn’t it the same way with all adopted children? They aren’t related to their adopted parents, but they usually care about them just the same.”

“Yes, but that’s different, you’re a dog, they’re not!”

Peabody smiled just a little as he relished in the fact that Ms. Grunion was fuming in anger and he was not, he was keeping his temper, just like he had trained himself to do.

“But I care about Sherman, I want to give him a home, isn’t that all that’s required of a potential adopter? You know I don’t recall a single other person stepping up to adopt him before I did. I was the only one who wanted him.”

“It doesn’t matter. You won’t ever see Sherman again and that’s that.” She said with a smirk.

Suddenly the door opened again, and a man dressed in a police officer’s uniform looked into the room.

“Ma’am, there’s a problem, Frank is now on the boy’s side, he’s helping him.”

“I already know that, tell me something I don’t know.” She snapped as she walked up to him and out the door, Peabody could still hear them.

“We just received word that Paul Peterson somehow got a hold of the security camera footage of the school and sent it to his lawyer.” He could hear the guard saying.

“WHAT?! How did that happen? I hired that janitor to watch the place, make sure no one got in to steal the footage! I swear if Frank succeeds I will….ARRGGH!”

Peabody could hear crashing sounds and breaking of glass as he saw a glass vase go flying past the doorway, along with a painting, a couple pots with fake plants in them and photo frames; some of which crashed to the ground and broke, some of the pieces scattering into the room.  

He could only assume Ms. Grunion was the reason for said destruction.

His hope rose.

“ _Help my little boy, Frank, please help my little boy…_ ”

* * *

 

Frank and Sherman squeezed through the gate and jumped into the car. As Sherman threw the stun gun in the backseat and buckled himself in Frank started the car.

“Where are we going now?” Sherman asked him.

“First tell me why you didn’t tell me that you and Penny had already made up.” Frank countered, turning to Sherman and frowning at him.

“I don’t know… it… didn’t seem important.” Sherman said meekly.

“Well it certainly would’ve been important to know before we broke into the Peterson’s house, at least they’re on our side now too.” Frank sighed. “As for where we’re going, we’re not going anywhere.”

“What?”

“You heard me, they already know where you and I live now, and so we’re going to have to camp out. We’re going to Staten Island because it’s a forested area, hopefully anyone looking for us won’t try there.” he said.

“Oh.”

Frank picked his phone off the dash and quickly typed something into it. After a few moments he said “Ok, so it will take about an hour to get there. I’d try and get some sleep.” he put the car into drive and began driving.

Sherman felt like it was only moments later when he felt Frank shaking him. He yawned and looked around, there were trees everywhere; he could not see any roads.

“Where are we?”

“We’re deep in Latourette Park, Staten Island. Plus, it’s night time so hopefully no one will hear us.”

Sherman laughed “Hear us? I don’t think we’ll be making any….noise” he trailed off as Frank reach across him into the glove compartment and pulled out a pistol.

“Why and what are you going to be shooting in the middle of the night?” Sherman asked.

“I’m not, you are. Trees. For target practice.” he said.

“What?! I can’t shoot a gun!” Sherman yelled.

“You will. I think you should know how to shoot to defend yourself, if anything ever happens to me. Come on.” Frank opened his door and stepped out. Sherman did the same and walked around the car.

“Now, the number one you should thing you should know is the safety. This is it right here.” He showed Sherman where it was and how to activate it. He handed it to Sherman and had him turn it on and off a couple times.

“Now, the way you activate it is by pulling the slide toward you, that’s this top part here.” He pulled the slide toward himself and quickly fired a shot into the air.

Sherman reacted by quickly covering his ears. “Ow! That was loud!”

“What? You’ve never heard a gunshot before?”

“Yeah I have, but only on TV, when Mr. Peabody let me watch the old version of The Magnificent 7 once. He said it was a classic.”

“Oh yes, it is a classic.” Frank smiled.

“Now let’s try some target practice.” he said.

He started showing Sherman a couple ways to hold the gun.

“Now, when you have both hands free is best, that way you get maximum control, you can steady the gun with both hands” He held the butt of the pistol with his right hand and cupped it with his left and fired at a tree a few yards away.

Sherman covered his ears and looked where Frank had fired. He saw a couple bullet holes in the trunk of the tree.

“Now you try.” Frank said.

He handed Sherman the gun and pointed to a tree that was a lot closer.

“Try shooting at that one.”

Sherman took the gun in his hands and aimed it at the tree. He pulled the trigger. Suddenly his arms felt like they were on fire and had been pushed back by a great force.

“Ouch!” He said as he dropped the gun. “That hurt!”

“Did you clench your arm muscles?” Frank asked him.

“Yes.”

“Well that would be why, you allowed the shock of the recoil to travel through your arms. Try it again, only this time, loosen your arms just a bit, but not so much that it hits you in the face, because that would really hurt. You have to learn to control it, find that fine line between loose and smacking your face, and tight and feeling like your arm’s on fire”

Sherman picked up the gun back up and did as he was told. He fired and the gun recoiled just a bit and his arms didn’t hurt.

“I think I got it, but my ears hurt.” he frowned.

“You’re not used to gunshots at close range, here.” Frank put his hands on Sherman’s ears.

He took them off quickly. “I want you to practice shooting with both hands and both hands separately, and try shooting different trees too.” He put his hands back over Sherman’s ears.

Sherman practiced with his left hand, then his right hand, and then both hands again, shooting a couple different trees whenever he switched hands.

Frank took his hands away. “I think that’s enough practice for tonight, and we’ve got a long drive to D.C. tomorrow, let’s get some sleep.”

He took the gun from Sherman and stowed it back away in the glove compartment.

Sherman got into the backseat and stretched out. Frank got into the driver’s seat and leaned his seat back.

“Goodnight Frank.” Sherman said.

“Goodnight Sherman.”

Frank had barely taken a few winks when he was awoken by quiet crying. He quickly checked his watch. It had only been 15 minutes.

He turned his head to look at Sherman. He was crying quietly with his head in his arms.

“Sherman, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“I miss Mr. Peabody.” he said in between hiccups.

“Don’t worry, we will find him and get him back.” he said as he reached over to ruffle Sherman’s hair and smiled.

Sherman smiled slightly.

“I hope so.”

Frank closed his eyes.

“ _I hope so too, Sherman, I hope so too…_ ”


	6. Confrontation

“John, isn’t your shift almost over?”

John turned around. “Oh, hello Ms. Grunion.” Grunion was standing at his cube entrance. He looked at the clock on his computer desktop. It said 7am. “Yes, it is, how do you know these things?”

“Oh I just like to learn everyone’s schedules so I can help keep things running smoothly.” she said as she inspected her nails. “I’m sure you must be tired.” she said as she looked at him. “Having the night shift must be tiring.”

He stretched and yawned. “Yes, well, thanks…I guess.”

He shut his computer off and stood up. Grunion moved over to make way for him. As he passed her she quickly and carefully moved her hand and deftly unclipped his DSS Security badge from his belt and stuck it in her pocket.

“Have a good day.” She said as she walked toward the elevator.

“You too.” He said as he waved back in her general direction as he walked the other way toward the parking garage.

She quickly exited the elevator at the ground floor and departed the building. She swiftly made her way across the vast lot toward a large warehouse. She walked up to the small door in the side and passed John’s badge over the lock. She heard it click and opened the door to reveal a large warehouse, holding a couple armored trucks. She walked over to the one that held the small tank and climbed up into it and got into the driver’s seat. She opened the computer that was sitting on the dashboard and entered Frank’s license plate number.

“Now… where were you last Frank?” She mumbled as she looked at the computer screen. It popped up a map with an image of Staten Island.

“Last seen near there huh? Well we’d better hurry before you decide to move again...”

* * *

 

Sherman felt himself being shaken. He didn’t want to wake up. He wanted to keep sleeping. “Mmph, I don’t want to get up Mr. Peabody…” he said.

He heard a sigh. “I’m not Mr. Peabody, Sherman. Wake up. We need to get going. Well, I suppose it doesn’t actually matter. I can still drive with you sleeping. It’s 8:30am, I suppose you can sleep a little more.”

Sherman was startled when he heard a car start and sat up. “Ok, I’m awake now.” He looked around. He was sitting in the backseat of a car. Frank was sitting in the driver’s seat, looking back at him. Sherman became sad, his memories came back and he remembered. He sighed.

“You might as well make yourself comfortable or go back to sleep, we’ve got a 4 hour drive to Washington D.C.” Frank said as he turned back to the steering wheel. He put it in drive and drove through the forest for a few minutes until the came to a road. He pulled onto it and continued driving.

Sherman sighed and leaned back against the leather seat. He might as well keep sleeping….

He woke up to bangs and bumps, he opened his eyes and noticed they were now driving on a wide dirt road that was leading up a large mountain.

“Where are we?” He asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

“We are almost to New Jersey.” Frank stated simply. “Wait… what in the world is a military convoy truck doing out here all by itself?”

Sherman looked where he was looking and saw a large military convoy truck facing them on the road some ways away from where they were. It had stopped. They both watched as a tank drove out the back and started toward them. Frank looked at it in confusion but then all confusion flew out the window with the tanks next action: It started firing at them.

“Oh, great!” Frank yelled. He floored the accelerator and Sherman was thrown back in his seat.

“What is going on?!” Sherman yelled “Why is that tank shooting at us?!”

“I have no idea; all I know is someone really wants us dead! And I have a faint inkling of who it is…”

They were rapidly approaching the tank. They could hear bullets striking the car and the ground. Frank quickly jumped out of the driver’s seat and into the passenger seat. He kept one hand on the steering wheel and yelled back to Sherman: “Quick get up here! I need you to drive, while I take the tank out. The right pedal is the gas, just put your foot on it and keep it there!”

Sherman didn’t even question it, he jumped into the seat and placed his foot on the gas and grabbed the steering wheel.

“Now, when we get closer, I need you to drive past its right side, our left.” Frank said. Sherman nodded and looked forward, determined.

Frank quickly reached in the back and pulled out a machete.

“What in the world do you even have a machete for?!” Sherman yelled at him.

“I like to be prepared, this machete should help us.” He said.

Frank rolled down the window and held the machete like he was going to throw it. They passed the tank and as they did, Frank threw the machete like a throwing knife. It landed squarely in the gears of the right side tread. They heard a grinding noise and then a loud metallic snap. The treads had broken. Since one tread was now broken the tank started turning. Unfortunately, it started turning toward the cliffs edge. Sherman slammed on the brakes and they both turned and watched the tank. It teetered on the spot and then slid down the cliff, causing a small dirt avalanche underneath it. There was a large tree in the way and the tank crashed into it, causing birds to fly out of it and a shower of leaves and dead branches to fall on the tank. The hatch opened and they both spotted a familiar color, pink.

“That’s what I thought.” Frank said.

Ms. Grunion had a large gash in her head and was holding her wrist.

She looked up at them watching her and yelled “I WILL get you! I WILL find you ARRGHH! You will NEVER see Mr. Peabody again!”

“Ok…. that woman is officially crazy.” Frank said. “Come on. We still have quite a ways to go.”

He and Sherman got into the car and continued driving, Ms. Grunion still yelling death threats, insults and curse words after them.


	7. Road Race

Sherman moved back into the backseat and Frank took the wheel again. They continued driving through the mountain for about an hour until Frank noticed the fuel tank. It was almost empty.

“Crap.” He said.

“What?” Sherman leaned forward. Frank pointed to the gas gauge.

“Oh.” Sherman said simply.

Frank pulled to stop on the side of the road and got out. He walked around to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Sherman then heard a frustrated grunt from Frank, followed by the sound of plastic hitting rock.

Sherman quickly got out. “What’s wrong?” he asked. But the sight explained itself. The plastic red gas tank was lying on the road on its side, no gas spilling out, and Frank was standing with his hands on his head.

“I forgot to fill up my spare gas tank, and we’re in the middle of nowhere, so I don’t know what we’re going to do. I doubt people live around here.” Frank gestured up and down the road, various mountains on its left and right.

“Let’s just keep going, maybe we’ll find someone.” Frank said, without much enthusiasm. Sherman worried as they both got back into the car. Would they be able to find someone?

They kept driving, Frank trying to save gas, but it wasn’t doing much good, the needle kept getting lower and lower…

Finally, when they rounded a corner in the mountains, they noticed some people and motorcycles gathered at the top of a hill. 

They both sighed in relief.

But as they got closer, they could make out the people's features…mustaches, white shirts, black vests, bandanas, and blue jeans with mean looking chains hanging out of their pockets. They were dirt bikers.

As Frank finally pulled up to the top of the hill a couple of them noticed him and started walking over. Frank pulled to a stop.

“Stay in here.” He said to Sherman and got out.

He couldn’t quite gauge their moral state, were they good?, bad?, shady? 

“Hi.” he said with a smile, a feeble attempt to break the ice and keep them placid. “My name’s Frank. Me and Sherman here are in a bit of trouble, and I was wondering if you could help us. Do you have any spare gas?”

The one who looked like the leader, evidenced by the most decorative badges on his vest, swaggered up to Frank and said, “Well sure but what’s in it for us?” with a sneer. “By the way, my name’s Jonas, and this here is my biker gang.” He had a weathered face and salt and pepper hair and had a mustache that looked like it hadn’t been taken care of in ages.

“Money?” Frank said hopefully.

Jonas laughed. “Well no duh! We don’t live in a free society here. Tell you what, you beat me and my gang here in a dirt race, we’ll give you some gas, but…if we beat you, it’ll cost ya.”

“How much? Frank asked.

Jonas thought. “Mmm, one hundred dollars.”

Frank internally sighed in relief, he had $200 in cash in the car, but that was absurd.

“That’s ridiculous! The price for a full tank of gas isn’t anywhere near a Benjamin at any gas station!”

“Like I said, we don’t live in a free society, and it’s our gas, so we make the price. Take it or leave it.” Jonas growled.

“Ok fine, but I can’t race, my car is literally out of gas.” Frank said. “How about…you fill up my tank, and if I win, we'll call it even, and if I lose, I pay you $100 for it?” he counter-offered.

Jonas thought about it before offering his hand. "Deal."

Frank shook it. “Deal."

“Hey Mark! Fill ‘im up!” Jonas called one of his friends over. Mark reached into one of the bikes and pulled out a gas can. While he was filling up Frank’s car Jonas motioned to Sherman, whose face was pressed against the window, watching. “So what’s with the kid? Is he yours?”

“Oh, no. He’s my…” Frank stopped, trying to find the right word. “…ward…for now.”

Jonas nodded. “You DO realize this is dangerous? What we’re doing?”

Frank laughed and nodded in return. “Yes, I do, but we’ve been through worse.”

Jonas opened his mouth and looked like he was about to question some more when thought the better of it and motioned to Frank. “Come on, I’ll show you the course.”

Frank followed Jonas to the other side of the road and finally noticed some road cones, marking the course off, they were standing at a straightaway that led into a forested part of the mountain, and Frank couldn’t see the end.

“This here is the starting line,” he pointed to the ground where a white line spanned the width of the road. “We start here and race around the bend at the end and come back here.” He pointed at the other side of the hill, where Frank noticed another road going out where the forest ended.

“One lap, whoever gets back first wins.” He said simply.

Mark had finished filling up Frank's car and returned the can to the bike. They both walked over to their respective bikes and everyone set to work on maneuvering theirs over to the starting line. Frank got into the car and Sherman bombarded him with questions. “So they’ve got gas? Did you have to pay him for it? Why were you standing over there?”

Frank held up a hand. “Calm down, calm down. We got this. We just gotta race them for it.”

Sherman sighed. “Oh boy...”

They finally maneuvered their bikes and Frank's car to the edge if the starting line. They all revved their engines and one of Jonas' gang members fired a gun into the air and they were off.

After pulling ahead, Frank was able to maneuver past some of them to gain the lead at the corner but fell behind because it was a curvy road that the bikers knew better. But Frank was able to race ahead of them and gain the lead again. At the last second one of the bikers and Frank were neck and neck, but Frank gassed at the last second, thus crossing the finish line first and winning the race.

He braked to a stop and got out.

"Thanks for the race... and the gas." Frank said. He was anxious to get out of there.

Jonas walked up to him, mumbling something, most likely sore about losing.

"Rematch?" He asked as Frank got into the car again.

"Maybe, after I've completed this 'job'" Frank said with a smile and a wink as he looked back at Sherman.

They said their goodbyes and Frank continued past the first bend of the race course onto the road, continuing their way to Washington D.C.


	8. Arrival in D.C.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you I would finish it. Although with it having been ~2 years since I last updated this story, I must say, this is probably some of my worst work. After reading all the chapters again to get my bearings on how this story was going, I cannot believe the logical inconsistencies, discontinuity, and just plain bad writing and characterization and how unrealistic this is. What can I say? I was new to writing fics back then and my writing skill has evolved since. I half thought about just writing an authors note chapter saying I decided to not finish this story at all, but I knew that would haunt me. So, here is the next chapter. I’m not sure how much longer it will be, but we’re definitely near the end, and I’m thinking maybe 1 or 2 more chapters after this. I’ve tried fixing the issues in the previous chapters as best I can, but without a complete rewrite in some places it’s still not that great, thus, these next chapters probably won’t be that good either. But hopefully I can pick up the pieces and put it all together in a semi-believable, cohesive ending. I did do a major rewrite of the end of chapter 4, because I realized that this story starts approximately at the point in the movie where Peabody bites Grunion, and at that point in the movie, both Penny and Sherman and Peabody and the Petersons are now on semi good terms. As for how that works timewise, remember this is when Penny and Sherman go back because Mr. Peabody ‘died’ in ancient Troy, so at this point, they are definitely friends. But, when Sherman and Mr. Peabody merge together, all signs point to the ‘latest’ versions of them coming out, so they have the memories of all their time experiences. Sherman’s still friends with Penny, and Peabody still knows what’s going on. Also remember this is an AU and so forget any time continuum incidents that may happen, they’re nonexistent. Time just goes on as normal. But of course I didn’t realize all this two years ago because I didn’t THINK. So honestly, if you read this first way back t(w)hen, you should just start at the beginning and read the whole thing again, otherwise, nothing will make sense if you only know the first version of this story. Also, just to note, I am no longer working with Shinigamilover2 on this, starting with this chapter, all words, ideas, plot points, and concepts are my own.

After about another hour and a half of driving, they finally arrived in Washington D.C. without further incidents.

"Sherman, wake up, we're almost there." Frank pointed at the Washington monument as Sherman rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked.

He smiled and said, "I remember when Mr. Peabody took me here, we visited Capitol Hill, the Washington and Lincoln Monuments, and the Library of Congress."

“Man, this Mr. Peabody sounds like the best father.” Frank chuckled.

“He is.” Sherman beamed.

“So, here’s the plan, hopefully we won’t really have to do anything. The Petersons’ lawyer should have no legal choice but to use that footage ‘they’ sent them to get Ms. Grunion off you and your dads’ tail…” Frank trailed off as he let the pun he made hang in the air and chuckled to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Sherman asked.

“I made a pun, get it? ‘get her off your dad’s tail..’? and he’s a dog… with a tail…”

Understanding dawned on Sherman’s face and he laughed. “I get it!” he said.

Frank smirked. “Good man, understanding and appreciating puns, even the bad ones, is a skill not many people have unfortunately.”

They drove for awhile until Frank finally pulled into the visitor parking lot of the D.C. Supreme Court. Frank was worried, he wasn’t entirely sure things would work out still. He didn’t exactly have any proof that he hadn’t kidnapped Sherman, obviously Sherman would vouch for him, but would that be enough?

“Frank? What are you waiting for?” Sherman jolted Frank out of his thoughts.

“Nothing, I was just thinking. Let’s go.” Frank quickly moved his arm and adjusted his rearview mirror, which Sherman thought was strange, but didn’t think anything more of it. They both got out of the car and walked over to the court’s entrance, a large looming stone building with pillars supporting the roof. As they walked up the steps Sherman looked up, marveling at the size.

They reached the entrance and after successfully passing through the security check they were finally in the courthouse.

Frank turned to Sherman. “Well, you’re here. My original job was to bring you here and then I was supposed to call Grunion and she would provide payment, but now there’s no point in calling her-”

“Frank Martin! You are under arrest for the kidnapping of Sherman Peabody!”

Frank swung around to see two police officers rapidly approaching him and before he could react they had handcuffed him.

“No! you’ve got the wrong person! I didn’t kidnap him!” Frank yelled.

“Stop! He’s telling the truth! He didn’t kidnap me, he’s a friend!” Sherman cried.

The two officers stopped, looked at each other and then one of them came over and bent down on one knee to Sherman’s level.

“Frank didn’t kidnap me!” Sherman said again, starting to cry. The familiar feeling he’d experienced a couple times when he was younger threatened to flare up. The feeling of being lost. The feeling of being alone with no adults he knew was one of his worst fears.

“Hey, Sherman.” Frank said, trying to comfort him. “It’ll be ok, we’ll um, we’ll get this sorted out.”

The other officer started walking Frank away.

“Hey Sherman, like he said, it’ll be ok.” The female officer smiled and said comfortingly, putting a hand on his shoulder. She had brown eyes and blonde hair, and though she was a police officer, she looked at Sherman with a motherly gaze.

“It’s been awhile, you’ve grown quite a bit.” She said suddenly.

Sherman looked at her warily. “W- what do you mean? I don’t know you…”

She chuckled. “I’m sorry, I suppose you wouldn’t. My name is Lisa, and I’m the one who held you while your father was in court and who finally handed you to him.”

“Oh…” Sherman smiled. Mr. Peabody had told him many times the story of his adoption, but it was rather surreal to see someone from his infancy he’d interacted with but didn’t remember at all.

“Come on.” She said. And with that she led Sherman down a hallway and into what looked like a police station waiting room, it looked a lot like the local police station Sherman had been in a couple times back home in Manhattan.

She motioned for him to sit down in one of the chairs. “Have a seat.”

Sherman sat down.

Lisa became serious. “Now, I just need to make sure you’re telling the truth.” she said as leaned against a table. “Frank is gone, so you can freely speak. Did he really not kidnap you, or did he really and you’re just saying he didn’t because you’re afraid of what he’ll do if you say he did?”

“No, Frank is nice and he didn’t kidnap me, Ms. Grunion tricked him into kidnapping me.” Sherman said slowly with emphasis.

She was silent for a moment; the only sounds were the voices of other people in the room and a clock on the wall. She finally spoke. “Ok, I believe you.”

“You do?” Sherman asked.

“Of course, and just so you know…” she came and sat in the chair next to Sherman. “I’m on your side. I supported the adoption. You know why?”

“No, why?”

She smiled. “Because of the look in your father’s eyes when I handed you to him. It was at that moment I knew he really loved you, and it was adorable. But not just that, do you know how long he was working through his case to adopt you?”

Sherman shook his head again.

“Six months.” She paused for emphasis and repeated it again. “Six months Sherman.”

“Normal child adoption cases take 1-2 months, maybe 3 if it’s a rare case, and even more if it’s an international adoption. But your fathers took 6 months because he was in the stratosphere of rare child adoption cases. Most people would’ve given up after trying to adopt a child for 6 months, but not your father.”

Sherman smiled.

“So when I saw the look in his eyes once I handed you to him I could see his joy at finally being able to hold the fruits of his labor. He worked hard for you, and people who work hard for anything or anybody they want rarely do anything malevolent toward them, which is why I find this whole case you’re caught up in ridiculous and unbelievable. Your father would never do any of the things Ms. Grunion is claiming he has.”

They sat in silence for a few moments before Sherman finally asked: “Do you know where Mr. Peabody is?”

“Yes, he’s in a federal prison nearby, but he’s not allowed any visitors.” She said hesitantly. “But I gotta go now, you’ll have to wait in this room for a while, can you do that for me?”

Sherman sighed. He was slightly happy he was closer to Peabody than ever before but still disappointed he couldn’t see him quite yet. “Yes…”

“Good, I’ll be back soon.” She said, and then left.

Sherman entertained himself reading some of the magazines in the room for a while until Lisa finally returned.

Sherman put the magazine back and stood up. Before he could open his mouth, she spoke. “You’re needed in courtroom 3. I’ll take you there.”

Sherman followed her out of the room. “What’s going on?”

She scoffed. “I don’t know, all I know is this case you’re caught up in is so complicated that a hearing date was fast tracked somehow, there’s multiple perps involved, and now you’re needed in the courtroom for the hearing, which is rare, minors are barely ever in courtrooms, to testify or otherwise.”

She suddenly turned and put both hands on Sherman’s shoulders. “But first I must tell you… you will see your father in there, but you cannot go up to him, or touch him, hug him, anything like that. You must remain quiet and still, and speak only when spoken to, understand?”

Sherman nodded sadly and solemnly as he continued following Lisa to the courtroom.

* * *

 

Having been in many before, Frank soon found himself in an interrogation room. The policeman cuffed him to the table and sat down on the other side.

“So, you’re Frank Martin. Why did you kidnap Sherman?” He asked coolly.

Frank glared at him. “I already told you I didn’t. The psychopath named Ms. Grunion tricked me into kidnapping him. Ask Sherman, he’ll say the same thing.”

“Lisa’s doing that right now. But you’ll probably want to prepare, the hearing is starting soon.” He said as he stood up.

“Prepare how? I’m supposed to be an unconcerned third party.”

“You’ll figure something out.” He said before leaving.

Frank was alone in the room for awhile until the officer walked back in and started uncuffing him from the table.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“We’re going to courtroom 3, the case hearing starts in a little bit.”

“Don’t hearing dates usually take awhile to get?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, but this one was fast tracked somehow.” The officer said as he led Frank out of the room.

* * *

 

Mr. Peabody looked up as his cell door was opened. Ms. Grunion was standing outside it with a smug smile on her face, and a police officer walked in and handcuffed him.

“What is going on?” he asked.

“The hearing is today, we’re going to courtroom 3 at the federal courthouse and you’ll finally be stripped of Sherman’s custody.”

“How is that possible? the procedures through which a civil case goes through rarely allow the hearing date to take place months after the incident, much less weeks.” Peabody asked.

“I have connections. I was able to fast track the hearing date.” She said smugly.

Peabody suddenly noticed the bandage on her hand. “What happened to your hand?”

She looked at it. “It’s nothing, I sprained my wrist when I fell at home.”

The officer led Peabody out of the jail cell and they both started down the hallway toward the parking lot of the federal prison.


	9. The Hearing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m calling this chapter a hearing rather than a trial because after some research I feel that the whole situation perfectly fits the requirements for a preliminary hearing and not a full-blown court case and also makes this fall more under the category of a civil case, not a criminal one… yet. But still, from my limited knowledge of how courts work and research, I’ll do my best. Also remember, at this point because it’s an AU no one knows about the WABAC or time travel.

Lisa led Sherman through a wooden door and into the small room. It looked a lot like a courtroom, but it wasn’t very large. She motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs in the gallery and went and stood a little ways away. After a short time, another door in the room near the bench opened and the other officer who had led Frank away walked in, Frank in front of him in handcuffs. He sat Frank down in one of the chairs in front facing the bench and stood next to him.

After a much longer time, Sherman noticed the door he had come in open and quite a few people began to file in, walking past him to the jury box and sitting down, though three of them separated off and went to sit near the bench. Sherman guessed they must be the bailiff, court clerk, and court reporter from when Mr. Peabody had taught him on how courts work. They were soon followed by the entire Peterson family and their lawyer. Paul and the lawyer walked to the front of the room and sat down at a table on the other side of Frank. Patty and Penny nodded solemnly to Sherman and sat down in the chairs in the gallery. Finally, the door near the bench opened again and Ms. Grunion strode in, a confident smirk on her face. She was followed by Mr. Peabody in handcuffs and then by another officer.

Sherman gasped quietly and resisted the overwhelming urge to run to his father and hug him. He looked unwell, there were bags under his eyes and his fur was matted and tattered. He noticed Sherman and immediately his muzzle burst into a tender smile. Sherman smiled tenderly back, desperately trying to communicate with him telepathically.

The officer led Mr. Peabody to another table next to Frank and sat him down.

Finally, the judge walked in from a door just behind the bench and sat down. The judge was wearing black robes and was a white middle aged man with graying hair.

“All rise.” The bailiff ordered. “This hearing is now in session. The honorable judge Cain presiding.”

Everyone who wasn’t already standing stood up.

“Be seated.”  The judge said.

Everyone sat down again.

“Now, as this is probably the first civil case in my career that is more complicated than I’ve ever dealt with, I will run this hearing as I see fit.” The judge spoke. “We have two defendants and one prosecutor in this court, I have never seen this in all my years. I see all the required parties are present, so we will begin. This is a hearing to determine if there is sufficient cause to remove the custody of the boy known as Sherman Peabody from the accused, Mr. Peabody. But, it is also a hearing to determine if the other accused, Frank Martin, kidnapped Sherman Peabody. Since these two cases are related and completely inseparable, the jury and I will hold off any and all final decisions until the very end.”

He shuffled some papers on his desk. “First of all, please remove Mr. Martins restraints.”

The officer stepped forward and removed the cuffs from Frank, who gratefully rubbed his wrists.

Ms. Grunion sputtered. “Your Honor, I do not recommend that.” She warned.

The judge stared at her over his glasses. “Ms. Grunion, please be aware there is a presumption that a defendant should be unfettered in court unless there are reasonable grounds for restraint. You claim Mr. Peabody assaulted you, which is more than enough grounds to warrant restraint. The onus is on you to show reasonable grounds for the use of handcuffs, and so far, you have not provided sufficient evidence to warrant the use of handcuffs on Mr. Martin.”

“He kidnapped the child in question.” She said calmly.

“Be that as it may, the child claims he did not, and that Mr. Martin was acting in his interests, which I find highly irregular.” The judge said, eyeing Ms. Grunion with a steely gaze.

“Now, Ms. Grunion, please approach the bench and tell the court why you think Mr. Peabody should be stripped of the child’s custody.” He said, addressing the whole room.

“Certainly, your honor.” And so, Ms. Grunion strode forward and began to tell the court and jury of how she was called to the school to investigate a biting incident, and then to investigate the Peabody household, where, she used the phrase, “Mr. Peabody used some kind of witchcraft to separate and combine himself and the boy.”

Frank smirked, already things weren’t looking good for Ms. Grunion, he may not have to submit his final ‘ace in the hole’ after all…

“…I finally decided that that household was dangerous for the boy and attempted to remove him from it, whereupon that dog attacked and bit me!” Ms. Grunion finished, pointing angrily at Mr. Peabody. The jury furiously scribbled on their notepads, finishing up their notes.

The judge raised an eyebrow. “Ms. Grunion, are you aware that is in violation of the Bureau of Child Safety and Protection’s Article 4 clause 5, which states: ‘Without sufficient evidence assessment workers may not forcibly remove the child in question from the residence.’?”

“Yes, your honor, but I had sufficient evidence.” Ms. Grunion faltered.

“That is not sufficient evidence according to the law.” The judge said

“But your honor Mr. Peabody bit me!” Ms. Grunion held up her bitten arm, which no longer held any traces of Mr. Peabody’s bite.

“Ms. Grunion, you are aware that Mr. Peabody is the legal guardian of Sherman Peabody correct?”

“Yes-”

“Whether you were in violation of the Bureau of Child Safety and Protection’s Article 4 clause 5 or not, and whether or not Mr. Peabody also knew the stipulations of the same, there is no law that prevents a parent or guardian from doing whatever they feel is necessary for the welfare of their child. You were attempting to remove the child from the household without sufficient reason, and Mr. Peabody… attempted to prevent you from doing so. That is also dangerously close to the crime of kidnapping.”

“But your honor, the boy did that exact same thing to the girl, Penny!” Grunion said, pointing to Penny sitting in the gallery. “And since his father is a dog, he learned it from him, and so a household like that is not conducive to his growth.”

“Ms. Grunion,” the judge said her name for what seemed like the umpteenth time, trying to remain neutral, but growing tired. “You are aware biting in children has been seen in other families without Mr. Peabody’s…”

He paused, trying to find a respectful description.

“Appearance. So that argument is not valid. And, according to evidence sent to the court by the Peterson family lawyer, the girl was bullying him, and he responded the same, whether he really was influenced by his guardian to bite or not, that is still not sufficient evidence to warrant removing his custody from Mr. Peabody.”

“But Mr. Peabody also neglected him your honor.”

Frank scoffed under his breath, her weakest argument yet.

“How so?” the judge asked.

“Because Frank Martin kidnapped him.”

Frank could literally see the neutrality ebbing away in the judge’s face. “Was this before or after you arrested Mr. Peabody?”

“After.”

“So no one saw him after you arrested Mr. Peabody? No one saw Frank kidnap the boy?”

“No, your honor.”

“Ms. Grunion, need I remind you that the Bureau of Child Safety and Protection’s Article 4 clause 9 states ‘If for any reason during normal assessment the parent or legal guardian of the child in question passes away, is arrested by law enforcement, or otherwise becomes unable to care for the child in question, the responsibility to care for the child in question will automatically fall to the assessor, until the child in question is accepted into a foster home or adopted.’ Again, Ms. Grunion, you failed to follow the stipulations of your employer. I have heard enough, you may step down.”

Ms. Grunion took her seat, but Sherman could see she was fuming under her features.

“Now, could the entire Peterson family please approach the bench?”

Penny and Patty got up and walked past the bar and joined Paul in front of the bench.

“I am aware that all three of you were present for the events just described starting at the point where Ms. Grunion entered the Peabody household. Is that correct?”

All three nodded and said “Yes, your honor.”

“Then I have one single question to ask you: Is what Ms. Grunion just stated to the court all true and correct?”

Paul nodded. “Yes, your honor.” Patty nodded and said the same and so did Penny.

The judge nodded. “You may take your seats, except I now want to talk to both children in private, separately, to hear their sides of the story, starting with Ms. Peterson. Court is adjourned for a few minutes. Please join me in my chambers Ms. Peterson.”

Penny looked up at her parents and they looked down and nodded. They returned to their seats and Penny followed the judge through the door behind the bench.

In the silence, Frank took a chance to really look at Mr. Peabody. He was staring straight ahead, eyes not moving. He noticed Frank looking at him and nodded, smiling slightly, sending thanks in his eyes. Frank received the nonverbal communication and nodded and smiled back.

After a few minutes, the judge and Penny emerged again. Penny returned to her seat next to Patty, but the judge stayed at the door.

“Mr. Peabody, please join me in my chambers.”

Sherman jolted as he realized that, for the first time in his life, it was he who was being called what he’d called his father his whole life. It felt weird.

He quickly hopped off the chair and passed his father, who looked at him and Sherman again resisted the urge to touch him and followed the judge into his chambers.

After another few minutes, the door opened, and Sherman walked out and back to his seat while the judge took his seat at the bench again.

“Please remove Mr. Peabody’s restraints and allow him to approach the bench.” The judge said.

The officer did so and Peabody slowly walked to the center of the room, his height making the judge have to lean forward slightly to be able to see him.

“Mr. Peabody, please describe events as you perceived them.”

And so Mr. Peabody did, starting with getting the call from the school, all the way to biting Grunion and getting arrested, leaving out all the time travel parts.

The judge nodded. “You may step down.”

Peabody, as dignified as ever, bowed. “Thank you, your honor.”

He returned to his seat where the officer re-cuffed him.

“Now, for the final statement. Mr. Martin, please step forward and tell the court your point of view.”

Frank stood up and stepped toward the judge. “Thank you, your honor.” He turned and addressed the jury. “For anyone who doesn’t know, I am what’s called a transporter, which means I transport valuable items, or people, to their destination. And it is my job to protect them while they are being transported from anyone who may be after them for whatever reason. I was in New York late Sunday night when I was called by Ms. Grunion to deliver a package to Washington D.C. I agreed but found that the duffel bag she gave me to transport contained Sherman Peabody himself, bound and gagged.”

The majority of the court, mostly the jury, gasped and began whispering amongst themselves and Frank heard Mr. Peabody growl quietly.

“That’s not true!” Ms. Grunion yelled.

Frank lost his temper. “Yes, it is! I was right in front of you when you handed it to me!”

“Order!” the judge banged his gavel. “Order! Mr. Martin, do you have any proof, other than the boys’ word, to prove this?”

Frank frowned. “No, your honor.”

He turned to Ms. Grunion. “Ms. Grunion, do you have any proof refuting this?”

“Well, no.” she answered.

The judge sighed. “Please continue Mr. Martin.”

Frank nodded. “So, I decided to help Sherman, I took him to my house, where we rested up for the long drive from New York to D.C., and then started off the next day.”

He slowed down. “But… in a remote part of New Jersey we encountered Ms. Grunion, driving a military grade tank.”

Grunion again objected loudly. “That is preposterous! I did no such thing!”

“Order!” The judge banged his gavel again.

Frank smirked and finally decided to use his ‘ace in the hole.’

“And in regards to that I’d like to submit one final piece of evidence to the court.” He sneered at Ms. Grunion as he spoke and reached into his pocket and pulled out a microSD card. “This is a memory card containing footage from the dashcam in my car during the event, and I think you will find it very enlightening.”

Grunion went white.

“Very well.” The judge held out his hand and Frank gave it to him, who in turn handed it to the court clerk.

After a couple minutes they were finally able to pull up the proper video file and display it on the small video screen that was in the corner of the room. All eyes turned to it as the court reporter pressed play.

As the video began, Frank walked them through what happened, all the while the judge, court reporter, clerk, bailiff and the jury’s eyebrows raising, some mouths opening. When it finally reached the point where the tank had fallen down the mountain and hit the tree, everyone could see who it was, there was no mistaking the bright pink and purple Grunion was wearing.

Immediately the jury began whispering amongst themselves, nodding and writing on their notepads.

The video ended and the judge was speechless. “I-” he began, but was interrupted by the court clerk handing him a piece of paper that someone from the jury had handed him.

The judge looked at it and nodded silently, agreeing with whatever was on the piece of paper, and finally spoke. “The jury and I have already reached a decision.”


	10. Always Another Job

“Effective immediately, Ms. Edwina Grunion is under arrest for the theft of federal property, kidnapping… and two counts of attempted murder, one of a minor.” The judge declared.

The effect was immediate. Ms. Grunion tried to run; but she was instantly tackled by two of the police officers in the room.

“NO! NO!” She yelled.

The judge raised his voice over her protests. “You will be held for trial, without bail. However… since you have not yet submitted any medical records showing the extent of your injury, Mr. Peabody shall pay nominal damages to you for minor physical assault, in the amount of ten thousand dollars. Furthermore, Mr. Hector Peabody and Frank Martin shall be acquitted of all charges against them, and Sherman Peabody shall be immediately returned to the care of his lawful guardian, Mr. Peabody. Cases dismissed.”

He banged his gavel the hardest yet and the sound echoed through the room.

But Peabody couldn’t hear it, he was too busy smiling and waiting in eager anticipation as Lisa uncuffed him, his tail wagging a million miles a minute. The damages he had to pay didn’t faze him either, he would bite Grunion to protect Sherman again, and again if he had to.

Lisa smiled at him. “Go see your son.”

Peabody wasted no time obeying. He turned and ran to where Sherman was already standing in the gallery, smiling widely and waiting. He caught him up in a hug and they stayed like that for a few seconds.

“I missed you, Mr. Peabody.” Sherman finally spoke, his voice slightly muffled by Peabody’s fur.

“I missed you too Sherman.” Peabody said, pulling back so he could finally look his son in the face. He frowned, becoming serious. “Sherman, this whole ordeal has made me realize just how much you mean to me, and…I.. I just want to say… I **need** to say…”

He stopped, grimacing, forcing himself to say the words that had to be said. He had always had trouble expressing his emotions, but having the one person on earth that he cared about the most taken away from him and then being threatened with him being taken away forever, forced him to realize he didn’t just care about Sherman, he loved him.

“I love you Sherman. I… I always have.” He smiled.

Sherman stared in shock for the second time that day, his father had never in his whole life said the words he’d longed to hear said back to him.

After a moment he smiled wide and gripped Peabody in a hug again, eyes closed tight, tears threatening to spill out.

“I love you too dad.”

Now it was Peabody’s turn to be surprised. His first instinct was to correct Sherman, but he thought better of it, he was Sherman’s father after all.

Sherman pulled back, fearful. The name he had always wanted to give his father, but had always conditioned himself not to slipped out in a moment of emotional weakness, and he didn’t know how Mr. Peabody would react.

“I-I’m sorry, Mr. Peabody! It slipped out, I-”

“No, Sherman… it’s…it’s alright.” Peabody smiled reassuringly at his son. “It’s only proper now.”

Sherman smiled back. “Thanks, dad.”

Peabody smirked. “Are you are going to start saying it every chance you get now?”

Sherman beamed. “Yep!”

Peabody shook his head and grinned. “My silly boy…”

Lisa walked up to them, smiling widely. “Well, I’m glad that’s over, I’m so happy for you.”

Peabody turned to her. “I am too, thank you for all your help.”

She waved a hand nonchalantly. “Oh it was nothing, I barely did anything other than watch Sherman while Frank was temporarily under arrest.”

“Well, even so, thank you.” Peabody said.

“You’re welcome.” She smiled. “Though on a more serious note, you and Sherman will be expected to testify at Ms. Grunions trial, so watch for a summons for that in the mail soon.”

Peabody nodded gravely. “Of course.”

“Well, I must be going now, bye, bye Sherman!” They both waved goodbye and soon she was lost among the line of jurors exiting the room.

“Come on Sherman, lets get out of their way.” Peabody said.

So Sherman followed him out of the room and into the main entrance hallway, where they were greeted by the Peterson family.

“Hey, Peabuddy, it’s good to see you back!” Paul said.

“It’s good to be back Paul.” Peabody responded, smiling.

“We were wondering if we could maybe reschedule that dinner and… start things over?” Patty asked.

“I think that would be a splendid idea.” Peabody agreed.

“And I’m sorry Sherman.” Penny said.

“It’s ok Penny, you already apologized.” Sherman said happily.

She clasped her hands together. “I know, but me teasing you caused Ms. Grunion to come and then this to happen.” She then threw her arms around him in a hug, which he returned.

“Ms. Peterson, what happened to me is not your fault, Ms. Grunion is the one who decided to be a biased, and… I dislike slandering a person but a despicable human being.” Peabody growled. “I will definitely be testifying to the best of my ability against her at her trial.”

“Well, we must be going, it’s a long drive back to New York. Hey, do you two have a ride?” Paul said.

“N-” Peabody started.

“Yes! We can’t leave yet Mr. Peabody, you’ve got to meet Frank! And I’m sure he’ll drive us!” Sherman said excitedly.

“Sherman, you can’t just assume other people will do things for you just because you know them.” Peabody scolded.

“Well, see you back home.” Paul waved.  

They both waved a quick goodbye to the Petersons before Sherman dragged Peabody by the paw to look for Frank, who had disappeared among the crowd.

After a few minutes looking they finally found him slowly walking down the stone steps, shivering in the cold night air.

“Frank!” Sherman called.

He turned around. “Ahh, I was hoping I could escape unnoticed by the great Mr. Peabody.” He said jokingly.

“Absolutely not,” Peabody said with mock seriousness, extending his paw and shaking Frank’s hand warmly. “I cannot thank you enough for what you’ve done for Sherman.”

Shaking a dog’s paw was something Frank Martin never thought he would do in his life, but here he was, shaking Mr. Peabody’s paw. It felt weird to him, but of course he didn’t say so.

“It wasn’t much trouble, I was glad to do it.” Frank smiled. As he withdrew his hand he realized something, Peabody had been transported by the police to D.C. “Do you have a way to get home?” he asked curiously.

Sherman looked at Peabody with a grin, and Peabody returned it with a knowing, exasperated smirk.

“We don’t actually.” Peabody said.

“Well then I insist you let me take you back to New York.” Frank said.

“No, you’ve done enough, we couldn’t impose.”

“Well how else are you going to get home? And besides, I’m heading there anyways. Before all this happened, I was going to the Whiskey Park bar for some drinks, especially its famous Manhattan bourbon, and after all this, they still sound like the perfect way to unwind. I insist.”

Peabody relented. “Well, alright.”

Sherman pulled a victory fist and led the way to Frank’s car.

The way home was filled with pleasant conversation. Frank and Sherman regaled Peabody with their **actual** adventures, most of which Peabody wasn’t too comfortable with, but realized the hearing probably would’ve gone worse had they disclosed them. And Frank told them both a couple interesting stories of other jobs he had done as a transporter, leaving out any mature parts for Sherman’s benefit, much to Peabody’s relief. Soon Sherman had fallen asleep with his head on Peabody’s lap.

Frank finally pulled up to the penthouse.

“We’re here.” He said softly.

Peabody gently nudged Sherman awake and they both stepped out of the car and Frank rolled down the window.

“Thank you again Frank.” Peabody said.

“You’re welcome.” Frank smiled.  “Hey,” he handed Peabody a card with his phone number on it. “If you or Sherman ever need anything… anything at all… call me.”

“I will keep it in mind. Thank you.” Peabody said as he took the card.

“Well, goodbye.” Frank bid them farewell and pulled away from the curb.

“I like Frank, he’s cool.” Sherman said sleepily, eyes drooping.

“Well I certainly hope you don’t speed through the streets of New York trying to be like him when you get your license.” Peabody said jokingly as they both turned and walked toward the penthouse entrance.

Sherman was so tired he didn’t catch it. “That sounds like fun.” He said, yawning

Peabody smiled and rolled his eyes. “Alright, bedtime you. I want your teeth brushed and you in your pajamas as soon as we get up there.”

“Yes, dad…” Sherman didn’t complain.

Peabody didn’t either.

* * *

 

As Frank drove away, his phone rang and he answered it.

“Yeah?”

“I’m looking for a transporter.”

Frank smirked.

_“Always another job…”_

Those drinks would have to wait, _again_. Or maybe he could decline the job. Just this once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it’s finally finished, hope that was a satisfactory ending for all 2 of you who read this story. Of course I was gonna take Grunion to the cleaners. Honestly, thinking critically about everything she did in the movie, she was completely in the wrong, but I didn’t want everything to fall in Peabody’s favor either, although he would easily be able to pay those damages. Something new I did with the hearing though, I think that was the most characters I’ve ever had in a single place, and I think I juggled them all pretty well at least. Also their reunion was basically the ending school scene, it was my ‘version’ of how I thought it should have gone, it’s an AU, so I can do whatever I want. : P I couldn’t think of any way I could I have had the whole multiple Sherman’s and Peabody’s explained without it getting even more complicated and them revealing they’re time travelers so I just glossed over it. But other than that, I think I did a nice job finishing it. There’s other issues with it, like a Chekov’s gun that I could never figure out a way to make fire, but I’m just so happy that it’s finally finished I’m not going to worry about them. At least my only unfinished-ish story now is Time is a Matter of Perspective, and no, I still have no ideas for that. Now if you’ll excuse me, its 2 in the morning and I’m tired.


End file.
